Delta President Defends Handling Of Pan Am

March 14, 1992|By VICKI McCASH, Staff Writer

Delta Air Lines President Whit Hawkins defended his airline`s actions in the demise of Pan American World Airways and blamed the attorney for Pan Am`s creditors for the fiasco that has led to former Pan Am workers suing Delta for $1.1 billion.

``We wanted Pan Am to survive and we worked hard at it,`` Hawkins said to a group of Broward County business leaders on Friday. A letter written in November by Leon Marcus, who represents Pan Am`s unsecured creditors, destroyed the public`s confidence in Pan Am, Hawkins said. ``From that moment, the travel industry lost faith. The business plan and advance bookings went down. (Pan Am) was losing $3-$4 million per day.``

A month after Marcus wrote that Delta was weighing Pan Am down with high interest charges and fees associated with a $140 million loan, Delta announced that it would provide no more money to keep the Miami-based carrier alive. Marcus was on vacation this week and could not be reached for comment.

Hawkins comments escalate the war of words between Pan Am and Delta, which now are involved in three lawsuits in addition to the original action in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

On Thursday, former Pan Am employees filed a lawsuit seeking $1.1 billion in salary and benefits from Delta. The former employees claim Delta failed to fulfill promises that would have kept Pan Am aloft.

``I don`t think we have to apologize to anyone about how we handled that situation,`` Hawkins said.

Pan Am`s creditors and the defunct airline itself also have sued Delta, claiming that Delta led them on with false promises when all it wanted was Pan Am`s valuable trans-Atlantic routes and East Coast shuttle.

``We don`t think there`s merit to any of that,`` Hawkins said.

Hawkins also denied that Delta ever asked inappropriate questions to potential employees. The New York state Human Rights Division has called for a public hearing on 100 complaints from former Pan Am employees who claim that Delta asked improper questions about their sexual practices and marital status.

``We never have asked questions like that,`` he said. ``I don`t know why all of a sudden they would be asking those questions in New York. I think it`s interesting to note that all of those complaints came up after we made our hiring decisions, and they came from people we did not decide to hire.``